The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
HOrse-Sheds as a Means of Grace.

The little church was in small coun-
try town, and many of the members
lived in the country, from one to five
miles away. In fair weather the coun-
try members usually turned out in
force and hitched their teams to posts.
fences, trees-anywher to make them
secure while the services were in prog
ress. In hot weather the poor beasts
suffered from the heat, and shivered
with the cold in cold weather, and
sometimes both horses and carriages
were thoroughly drenched by sudden
storm. This church had called young
pastor fresh from the seminary, and
the very first Sunday he gathered the
church officers together and addressed
them thus: Brethren, it is a crime
against God and the dumb brutes to
have these horses hitched out around
the church in this way, exposed to all
sorts of weather. We must have some
horse-sheds at once" eve can't af-
ford it," said Deacon Blank. "My
old horse has been hitched to that old
stump almost every Sunday for fifteen
years. l guess he can stand it for
awhile yet" "Now, brethren" re-
piled the preacher, /" it is not right, it
is not Christian to treat your animals in
this way. A merciful man is merciful
to his BEAST" Before the next Sun
day arrived the pastor had made a
thorough canvass of his parish in be-
half of horse-sheds. Some promised
to work on the proposed sheds, some
gave timber, some lumber and others
gave little money. The congregation
was somewhat surprised on the next
Sabbath to hear the following notice
read from the pulpit: Cali who are in
terested in the erection of row of
horse-sheds are invited to attend a
grand mass-meeting at the church, COM
mencing Monday 0o-morrow) morning
at seven O'Clock and continuing until
the sheds are completed. Bring spades,
axes, saws, hammers and dinner-pails.
AT the appointed hour the pastor was
on hand, with coat off and ready for
business. The people had a mind to
work, and in one week eleven good
horse-sheds were completed and sur
rounded by neat fence. The prayer
of the pastor on the following Sunday,
We thank thee, O Lord, for horse
sheds, and may they be means of
grace to u.s." met with a hearty re-
SPOhoO Aioii thC congregation. LIE
prayer was abundantly answered, for
the congregation was more than
doubled within month. Many who
would not venture out to church if they
saw cloud in the sky as large as a
mans hand were now present almost
every Sunday, often coming in storm.
During the week the sheds were thrown
open to the public and were greatly
appreciated by those coming to town on
business. One farmer, not a church.
goer, was heard to say, as he drove I'M
der the sheds one rainy day. "These
sheds are about the whitest things in |
this town. l believe I'd like to hear
the Teller preach who pushed this thing |
through" He did hear him preach, |
and not many months after became an
active member of the church. More
sheds were built as the congregation in
creased, until forty teams could be
comfortably housed around that church,
and as many were often there. Other
churches in the community caught the
horse-shed fever, and in short time
each church had goodly number of
comfortable sheds. So the horse-shed
enterprise proved to be the greatest
means of grace the churches of that
place had enjoyed for many years. No
doubt other places would be blessed by
similar undertaking. Try 1.-THE
Hdtchmon.